FONTANA, CA – MARCH 22: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, inspects his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 22, 2014 in Fontana, California.

FONTANA, Calif. — A flat tire and resulting smack into the wall Saturday will send Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. to the back of the pack for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400.

The left rear tire went flat as Truex’s No. 78 Chevrolet was going into Turn 1 on the 2-mile oval at Auto Club Speedway, sending the car into the outside wall, causing major body damage to the right side of the car.

“The tire went down going into Turn 1, and I didn’t have any warning,” Truex said. “That’s not the place you want to have a tire issue. We had a good race car and felt it was even getting better. We have to start at the back, but if your car is good here, you can make your way up through the field. It’s really been a tough start of the year for this Furniture Row team. I hate it for the guys, but we’ll get through this and show what this team is capable of accomplishing.”

Truex’s 12th-place qualifying effort was nullified as he will have to start the 200-lap race from the rear of the field using the Denver-based team’s backup car.

This is the second time in the first five races of the season that Truex has been forced to a backup car. He also went to a backup at the season-opening Daytona 500. According to Truex, Daytona was the first time in his Sprint Cup career that he entered a race in a backup car.